1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improved handheld device for drying hair or the like, and more particularly, to an improved hair dryer having a low power consumption.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,103 (the “'103 patent”) to the current applicant discloses a thermoelectric hair dryer apparatus capable of low power consumption which makes use of a single thermoelectric cooling and heating module, that patent being incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference. The hair dryer of the '103 patent includes a motor driven fan which forces ambient air across each opposite face of the thermoelectric module simultaneously and at a high velocity. In the '103 patent, the thermoelectric module behaves as a heat pump by absorbing heat through a first heat sink in contact with one side of the module, pumping the heat through the module with a low voltage DC electric current, and rejecting the heat through a second heat sink in contact with the second side of the module. More particularly, the '103 patent discloses associating the thermoelectric module with upper and lower heat transfer elements, thereby forming an assembly, which is located within a conduit so as to divide or split the airstream created by a fan. In the '103 patent, the splitting of the airstream causes a first portion of the air to flow across the hot face of the module, and a second portion of the air to flow over the cold face of the module, and by virtue of the second portion of the air flowing across the cold face of the module, a quantity of heat is removed from the second portion. An adjustable air damper located at the output of the dryer of the '103 patent is positioned within the exiting airstream so as to affect the direction of air flowing past the module, thereby allowing more or less of either hot or ambient air to predominate the mixture.
The '103 patent additionally discloses that, operating at the DT=0 condition, a Peltier effect thermoelectric module is capable of its highest heat pumping performance. When the heat created by the power input itself (Joules heat) is accounted for, the module is capable of producing a higher quantity of heat than it would under normal conditions (that is to say, when operating at a given temperature difference other than zero). For example, a module which has the capability of pumping 62 watts of heat from the cold face, with input power of 120 watts, would actually be pumping 182 watts of heat. Stated as a formula: Qmax=Pin+Qc. It may be appreciated that the total amount of heat produced by this arrangement amounts to the sum, which is also substantially higher than would normally be produced by the input power (120 watts) alone (i.e., the total heat ejected by the module is the sum of the current times the voltage plus the heat being pumped through the cold side).
What is needed is a handheld dryer that even more efficiently utilizes a Peltier effect thermoelectric module.